Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batteries’ can help
From The Conversation (3/1/25)…
Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batteries’ can help
As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later.
We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric systems to large lithium-ion battery systems. We can also use flow batteries. These are a lesser-known cross between a conventional battery and a fuel cell.
Flow batteries can feed energy back to the grid for up to 12 hours – much longer than lithium-ion batteries which only last four to six hours.
I was one of the inventors of one of the main types of flow battery in the 1980s. It has taken decades to bring batteries like these to commercial viability. But they are, finally, arriving in earnest.
This year, the Australian government launched a national battery strategy to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries. This A$500 million strategy will focus on the well-known lithium-ion batteries which power phones and cars. But it will also include flow batteries.
Batteries are becoming more and more important. They can now power cars, houses and even cities. Huge amounts are being spent on commercialising new battery chemistries to electrify transport and make it possible to green the power grid.
To date, most of Australia’s grid-scale batteries use chemistries such as lithium-ion. But as our grid shifts to renewables, we’ll need longer duration storage to eliminate the need for fossil fuel backup generators. That’s a task well suited to flow batteries.
To date, most grid-scale batteries in Australia are conventional lithium-ion batteries. This photo shows a worker at the 250 MW Torrens Island battery project in South Australia. Matt Turner/AAP
